Will Your Voice Be Heard In School Board Elections?

With something approaching a one-party system in Minneapolis, is this fall's school board election in Southwest Minneapolis going to be truly democratic?

That's the question school board member Rebecca Gagnon uploaded to Patch over the weekend, and it's been drawing a range of sympathetic an skeptical replies ever since.

Looking back at her own school board race in 2010—the DFL did not endorse two candidates for the at-large seats up for grabs that year, letting all challengers run in a primary for the party's support—Gagnon wondered how Minneapolis voters are able to wield influence if an endorsement from the DFL carries enough weight to carry a candidate to victory.

"We have a strong and diverse group of candidates in the District races this year. How exciting would it be to carry on the conversations around the role they would play (if elected) in supporting public education in Minneapolis," she wrote. "How cool would it be if we all went to the polls understanding how each candidate would ensure equitable access to educational opportunities that prepared them for global citizenship?"

• On Patch, and on the Minneapolis E-Democracy forum, some posters took issue with Gagnon's description of the DFL party endorsement that will come from Saturday's convention as a winner-take-all proposition. , no candidate is legally obliged to withdraw their name from the ballot if they don't get their party's endorsement. Furthermore, there will be a primary if more than two candidates filed for any one open seat.

Four candidates are vying for the District Six school board seat.

• Still, Clark said she liked Gagnon's idea of a more competitive  primary: "In a city where the Minneapolis Public School district spends more than a half billion dollars of taxpayer money annually and holds the education of our future work force in their trust, I would hope that we could truly see more non-partisan conversations and screenings for those interested in this sector of public service going into the future," she wrote.
• "So the endorsement process isn't perfect. But neither are citywide campaigns with no endorsement, as it often is a question of who can raise the most money," Chris David pointed out on the same E-Democracy thread. "Frankly, I think I'd be in favor of going to straight primaries if we had publicly-funded elections. Until then, endorsements may be the best we can do. Certainly we need more involvement at caucuses and conventions, and trust me, this is a hot topic at DFL meetings, so hopefully improvements will be made."
• "The timeline does not lend itself to increased involvement from disengaged populations," wrote former school board member Chris Stewart. "The labor endorsements that lead to a DFL endorsement can determine the election long before voters are even in the game. I hope I'm wrong about that because I believe we choose better leaders when they are vetted, but it isn't looking good."
• "I am a DFL delegate, but I am first supporting a candidate, not the DFL Party," wrote Steve Kotvis. "I don't know. Maybe the DFL party doesn't like that. But we all have a right to our individual votes, don't we?"

What would you rather see? A competetive primary, or the current system?